Ghana, between January and June 2022, recorded a decrease in reported road crashes as compared to the same period in 2021, the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) provisional statistics reveal.
The data available to the Ghana News Agency in Tema showed that a total of 7,687 were documented for the first quarter of 2022 as compared to the 8,188 in 2021 for the same period, a reduction of 401 representing 6.12 percent.
A total of 13,248 vehicles were involved in the 2022 crashes, which led to the death of 1,300 persons as compared to the 2021 figure of 13,973 vehicles leading to 1,454 persons being killed.
The data also showed a 2.33 per cent reduction in the number of persons who got injured as a total of 7,997 and 8,188 injuries were recorded respectively, in the first half of 2022 and 2021.
Statistics also show that 1,356 pedestrians were knockdown in the first half of 2022 showing a downward trend of 144 representing 7.76 percent reduction from the 1,470 recorded in 2021.
In the regional distribution of the recorded road crashes, from January and June 2022, Greater Accra topped with 3,267 accounting for 42.50 percent of the total crashes.
Ashanti recorded 1,791 representing 23.30 percent; Eastern followed with 826 incidents representing10.75 percent; Central recorded 529 representing 6.88 percent; Western recorded 354 representing 4.61 percent; Volta recorded 193, representing 2.51 percent; Western North recorded 119 representing 1.55; and Bono East recorded 102 representing 1.33 percent.
The rest are Ahafo recorded 99 representing 1.29 percent; Northern had 94 representing 1.22 percent; Upper East recorded 76 representing 0.99 percent; Bono documented 72 representing 0.94 percent; Savannah recorded 53 representing 0.69 percent; Upper West recorded 51 representing 0.66 percent; North East had 35 representing 0.46 percent; and Oti witness 26 representing 0.34 percent.
Mr. Tony Dickson Afriford, Executive Director of the Global Road Safety Media Foundation, analyzing the data at the Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office and Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) Road Safety Campaign Platform, said the reduction could be attributed to the concentration of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA) and other stakeholders.
The GNA Tema Regional Office and the Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) Road Safety Campaign platform, seek to use prominent persons to provide continuous education on the need to be safe on the roads and reduce road carnage.
The Tema GNA and MTTD Road Safety Project seeks to create consistent and systematic weekly awareness advocacy on the need to be cautious on the road as a user, educate all road users of their respective responsibilities, and sensitize drivers, especially on the tenets of road safety regulations, rules, and laws.
Mr. Afriford explained the need to reduce the number of commercial vehicles getting involved in accidents and its resultant consequences as happened in previous years.
He said this was evident in the 4,619 commercial vehicles that got involved in road crashes showing a reduction over the 4,948 recorded in 2021 during the same period.
He further noted data crashes involving private vehicles also saw a reduction of only six cases, as 5,862 was reported in the first half of 2022 as against the 5,868 documented for 2021.
He added that pre-departure checks at the lorry station before vehicles embarked on a journey also yielded good results as conditions of tyres, licenses of drivers and other relevant things were often checked.
Mr. Afriford also stated that the Knowledge, Skill, and Attitude (KSA) approach to road safety to tackle the number of crashes and fatalities also helped in the reduction of the number of crashes seen.
The Executive Director of the Global Road Safety Media Foundation also commended the Ghana News Agency for consistently creating a platform for stakeholders to educate the public on the need to adhere to road safety rules and regulations.